"Kyla sweetie, would you mind telling us what's going on?" Kyla just brought me downstairs in her arms after using her powers to stun me. As if that wasn't bad enough, now everyone can see that I'm bleeding since Kyla so kindly ripped my hoodie.
"She's bleeding a lot and didn't tell anyone, she just collapsed on the floor upstairs. I tried to help her but she wouldn't let me, so I shocked her." Everyone in the room stared at her, eyes practically popping out of their sockets.
"So, correct me if I'm wrong, but she's more hurt than we thought, and your immediate response to that is to hurt her even more?"
"Well when you put it like that it sounds bad, but Scar, you don't understand! I didn't hurt her, just gave her a bit of a zap so she wouldn't hurt herself more!" I still can't move, but I'm starting to regain feeling in my fingers and toes.
"Aaand she's not allowed to watch Nova anymore."
"Scarlet, that's not fair! I did it for her own good!"
"The look she's giving you tells me otherwise." Yeah, I'm still glaring at her.
"Guys, we should do something about the bleeding…" The quiet voice is probably Ava.
"Yeah, you're right. Ebony, can you go get some new bandages from the nurse?"
"No problem darling, I'll be back in a flash."
"Kyla, just put her down on the couch and go watch the other two first-years that you forgot about." Kyla sets me down, and storms back up the stairs grumbling something about how she had the situation under control and all and how she was just trying to help. Is she really a fourth-year student? She acts like she's twelve.
Scarlet sighs and approaches me on the couch, shaking her head. "What are we gonna do with you?"
"I told her I was fine, it's not my fault she's such a spaz." I grumble. I don't understand why this situation is now being labeled as my fault.
"That's not really what I meant."
"Well then what did you mean?"
"Nevermind, that's not important. I'll tell you later." She probably won't, she just wants me to stop questioning her.
"Why don't the superiors just kick her out, Scar? She doesn't even want to be here, so why do they insist on keeping her?"
"Come on V, don't be like that. The chairman said he'd give us more information later, so just be patient."
"What do you mean more information?" Who's insisting on keeping me? I'm so confused, I don't understand anything that's going on right now.
"Ava, we'll talk about this later. When we're not, you know…" she coughs and glances pointedly at me.
"Yeah fine, whatever. I'm gonna go make sure Kyla's not doing anything weird to the first-years." She heads up the stairs, leaving me alone with Scarlet.
"Can you move at all yet?"
"Maybe." I try sitting up, and to my surprise, I actually can. Everything feels numb, though, which is a little odd.
"Good, looks like she did go easy on you. Look, I get that you don't want to be here and all, but-"
"Who told you that?!" Did Identity go sharing our conversation to the entire school?
"That doesn't matter. It's true though, isn't it?"
"No comment."
"Anyways, I get that you don't want to be here and that you're an independent spirit and all, but you have to stop acting so selfishly. Figure out your problems on your own time. I know that sounds harsh, but I don't know what else to say to you."
"I would've been fine if Kyla just left me alone. I am trying to deal with my own problems, but you stupid heroes are always trying to be the good guy and help everyone. It's so annoying! If it weren't for you trying to pretend, my mom wouldn't be-" Crap, I said too much.
"Your mom wouldn't be what?"
"Nothing, just forget about it."
"You know, you seem to hate heroes so much, and yet you don't realize how similar you are to them. If anything, you're the most heroic person I've ever seen. You don't hesitate to jump into action if it means saving someone else's life. You stopped a villain attack on the school that you've been trying to escape. You even were willing to sacrifice your own life to save another hero in training!"
"Well yeah, who wouldn't try to save someone else? It's not like my life is worth much anyways. It's just natural human instinct."
"You say that, and yet I know many people who put their own lives in front of others, not hesitating to sacrifice other people for their own survival. You may not accept it, but you're the perfect student for this school. That's part of the reason why they don't want-" Hmm, so she's keeping secrets from me too, huh.
"They don't want what?" I say, imitating her voice from earlier.
"Nevermind. I think Ebony's back." Listening, I hear graceful sounding footsteps coming back from the direction Ebony left.
"I'm back~!" She calls in a sing-songy voice, gliding into the room. "Oop, did I interrupt something Scarlet dear?"
"No, no, perfect timing actually. It looks like Nova's recovered, at least enough to where she can move. Did you get the bandages?"
"Yes ma'am, I got a nice big roll so that Nova wouldn't have to go back if it starts bleeding again later."
"Good, can you take her to the bathroom so she can put them on? I think she's got some experience in wrapping her own wounds."
"Um, are you sure darling? Wouldn't it be better to-"
"Oh shut up and give me the damn wrappings." I walk over to her, snatching the bandages out from her hands. I guess they won't let me be until I patch myself back up, so I don't really have a choice whether to do it or not.
Ebony backs away from me, looking almost frightened. I guess I am kind of acting like a feral animal right now, so I don't blame her. Not wasting a beat, I unwrap the bandages already around my stomach. Dropping them on the floor, I prep the new bandages.
Grabbing the scraps of my hoodie that Kyla so kindly ripped off earlier, I march over to the kitchen sink, getting them wet. Applying a small amount of pressure to the bleeding wound with my left hand, I clean off the blood on my stomach with the wet rags. Quickly, before more blood can come out, I wrap the first layer of bandages tightly around the wound. Winding around my body, I continue the wrap, making sure that it's secure and won't fall off. Tying it off, I throw the used bandages and the remains of my hoodie in the garbage can.
"There, I fixed myself up. Happy now?" Turning back to the girls, I see them staring in awe with those same stupid expressions again. The girls coming down the stairs are looking at me in the same way, too. "What? Have you never seen someone wrap themselves up?"
"W-well darling, I've just never seen someone move as quickly and efficiently as you before, especially not someone who's hurt! It truly was a magnificent display!" The others all nod in agreement.
"It's not that impressive, I've just had to learn to be self-reliant, that's all." Blushing, I turn away from them. "Can we just move on?"
"Hey Scarlet!" Kyla bolts across the room, practically jumping off the stairs to get to Scarlet. "I got all the kids to pick rooms, just like you asked! See? I can be responsible!"
"Well, now that everyone's here and we've all picked our rooms, there's only one last thing to show you all in our dorms. Ebony?"
"Yes Scarlet, with pleasure! If you'll all follow me over here, please!" She leads us across the room, until we're standing at a door directly across from the kitchen-esq area. Well, it's more like a curtain than a door, but it serves the same purpose. "Beyond this curtain is a place that you could only have dreamed of!" She opens the door with a flourish, ushering us all inside.
Inside the door, the room opens up quite suddenly, revealing a massive bathroom. There are a bunch of sinks lining a wall running down the middle of the room, sitting directly in front of a bathroom mirror. On the counter with the sinks are all kinds of products, from several tooth care products to skincare products. On the other side of the sink wall, there's a massive vanity with several stations featuring any makeup product a girl could want. Across from the sinks is a giant bath, looking less like a bath and more like a pool. I guess we take joint baths here, as stupid as that sounds.
"In here, you'll find everything you need to get yourself through the day! There's the basics like toothbrushes and hairbrushes, and all of the makeup you could ever want! And, to top it all off, at the end of the day, you can come enjoy a nice, relaxing soak in our Japanese style steam bath! Of course, if that's not for you, there's also a line of showers across from the vanities for basic hygiene purposes." Huh, I didn't see those, hiding in the back of the room. Thank goodness they're there, I don't know what I would do if I had to bathe with everyone else every single day.
"Thank you, Ebony. I'm sure you can show the girls more of the pleasures of the room at the end of the day. For now, let's go back out to the lobby to meet up with the boys. They've probably been waiting for quite a while now, they don't ever waste time with the tours. Follow me ladies!" She started heading out the door, with everybody else slowly flooding out behind her, leaving only me and Ava left in the room.
"Nova, do you feel good enough to walk?" Wait, does she actually care? I doubt it, but I wonder what she's thinking.
"Yeah, I'll probably be fine. I feel alright, but I don't know. I collapsed earlier with no warning, so I'm not really sure how to tell."
"Hmm, just, let me know if anything starts to feel off." Without saying another word, she turns and walks out the door, leaving me even more confused than before. She doesn't really strike me as the kind of person to care about a stranger she just met, so why is she acting like this now?
"Nova darling, are you coming?" Crap, I need to get going.
"Coming Ebony!"